cheese

More Cheesy thoughts

This is a sort of a follow up to my previous entry about Cheese – specifically Americans and Cheese

I was over in the US for the past couple of weeks and had the rather unfortunate experience of eating some American cheese. Its not something I’m going to repeat in a hurry.

Lets take an example: Coopers Sharp Cheese. The only thing sharp about this was the blade on the cutter used to slice the stuff. Sharp cheeses should be tangy. This smelt, looked and felt like a Kraft Single – and if you know what those are then you’ll know what I’m taking about.

I also had some smoked “cheddar”. OK it was smoked – I’ll give you that. Smoked on the outside to the point of being more like a kipper than a block of cheese. The inside however was another story completely.

Ever eaten Candlewax? No neither have I but I suspect its rather like the smoked cheddar – waxy, bendable but brittle.

Pickles

I guess this is a follow on from my bit about the American fixation with cheese. Its the American fixation with pickles.

Try to get a burger.. and if you are lucky enough to get one without cheese then its a sure bet that it will have pickle on it. Pickle seems to have seeped into the diet as a mandatory, yet mainly unnecessary, food stuff (in a similar way to sprouts are to the standard UK Christmas meal).

The “restaurant” in the Interstate Bowling Center in Augusta, Maine actually states on its menu for burgers that they are “served with the infamous pickle”. Served with it yes, but does anyone actually eat the things.. I think not.

Anyway who would want to pickle a cucumber anyway?

…and another thing

.. What is it with Americans and Cheese? Why do they smother everything in the damned stuff? I’m married to an American and she can’t answer the question. As you might have guessed I like cheese but NOT when its cooked – :wierdface:

There you are sitting in a bar and you want something to eat and you browse the menu.. Fancy a burger.. oh look its got CHEESE on it (note I’m not talking about Cheeseburgers here – I guess they have even more of the stuff on them). How about some nice steak tips with onions?… ‘fraid not its covered in cheese..

Arrgggggghhhhhh

What is it about Cheese? I went to Tesco the other day to buy some cheese and I found the correct aisle but could I find what I wanted? No! 🙁

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tesco their Cheese section is divided into “Snackable” “Cheddar” and “Continental”. Thats it… according to Tesco cheese is either Snackable (what ever that means? Surely ALL cheese is snackable.. apart from maybe very mature stilton) Continental (not sure if this means just mainland Europe or is a generic “from other continents”) or Cheddar.

So where is the Wensleydale (assuming Grommit has not eaten it all)? Where is the Double Gloucester? Where is the Red Leicester 😕 😕 😕

So then I started looking and I found it.. tucked away in the top left hand corner of the chiller unit were some moulded plastic trays bearing the words “Domestic Cheese”.

DOMESTIC CHEESE 😮 I dont want DOMESTIC Cheese – I want real WILD, FARMYARD cheese – lets face it Cheese comes from cows which CANNOT be described as Domestic animals in any shape or form .. Go and fetch my slippers… Daisy … I think I’ll take the cow for a walk ..

Madness all of it!!!

Steve